"Away from this house, do you mean, papa?"
"Yes, away from this house, and away from Tunxet, too."
"Not away for always?" said Eyebright, in an awe-struck tone. "You don't mean that, papa, do you? We couldn't live anywhere else for always!" giving a little gasp at the very idea.
"I'm afraid that's what it's coming to," said Mr. Bright, sadly. "I don't see any other way to fix it I've lost all my money, Eyebright. It is no use trying to explain it to a child like you, but that is the case. All I had is gone, nearly. There's scarcely any thing left,—not enough to live on here, even if I owned this house, which I don't."
Not own their own house! This was incomprehensible. What could papa mean?
"But, papa, it's our house!" she ventured timidly.
Papa made no answer, only stroked her hair again softly.
"And the mill? Isn't the mill yours, papa?" she went on.
"No, dear, I never did own the mill. You were too little to understand about the matter when I took up the business. It belongs to a company; do you know what a 'company' means?—and the company has failed, so that the mill is theirs no longer. It's going to be sold at auction soon. I was only a manager, and of course I lose my place. But that isn't so much matter. The real trouble is that I've lost my own property, too. We're poor people now, Eyebright. I've been calculating, and I think by selling off every thing here I can just clear myself and come out honest but that's all. There'll be almost nothing left."
"Couldn't you get another mill to manage?" asked Eyebright, in a bewildered way.